The Achaleshwar Mahadev Temple (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...

: अचलेश्वर महादेव मन्दिर, Mandir) is a

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...

temple situated just outside the Achalgarh Fort, located in the Abu Road

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

Sirohi Sirohi is a city, located in Sirohi district in southern Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by ar ...

district, in the

western India Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of its western part. The Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative division includes the states of Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra along with the Uni ...

n state of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

. The temple is believed to have been constructed sometime in the 9th century AD, and by the

Paramara dynasty The Paramara dynasty (IAST: Paramāra) was an Indian dynasty that ruled Malwa and surrounding areas in west-central India between 9th and 14th centuries. They belonged to the Parmara clan of the Rajputs. The dynasty was established in either ...

, which is also credited with having constructed the original structure of the Achalgarh Fort, later reconstructed, renovated and named as Achalgarh by Maharana Kumbha in 1452 CE.

Etymology

The word 'Achaleshwar' is a word displaying Sanskritic

sandhi Sandhi ( sa, सन्धि ' , "joining") is a cover term for a wide variety of sound changes that occur at morpheme or word boundaries. Examples include fusion of sounds across word boundaries and the alteration of one sound depending on near ...

and is derived from the Sanskrit words 'Achal' meaning immovable, and 'Ishwar' meaning 'God', while the word 'Mahadeva', again formed by the rules of ''sandhi'', means the great (maha) god (deva), and is an epithet of Shiva, the deity to whom the temple is dedicated.

Shrines

The temple stands in the centre of an enclosure on the southern side of the ''Agnikund'', wherein there are several small shrines dedicated to Shiva's mount, Nandi. Of particular interest and importance is a four tonne statue of Nandi made of panchadhatu, the alloy used for making idols, which is composed of five metals – gold, silver, copper, brass and zinc. The inscription is dated Chaitra S. 8, 1464 VS (1407 CE). Next to the Nandi statue is the

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

image of the famous 16th century

Charan Charan ( IAST: Cāraṇ; Sanskrit: चारण; Gujarati: ચારણ; Urdu: ارڈ; IPA: cɑːrəɳə) is a caste in South Asia natively residing in the Rajasthan and Gujarat states of India, as well as the Sindh and Balochistan provinces ...

poet and warrior, Dursaji Arha. The inscription on the brass statue of Dursaji Arha is dated Baisakh S. 5, 1686 VS (1629 CE).

Legend

According to local legend, the temple is built around a toe print of Shiva. Shiva is worshipped, like at most Shiva temples, in the form of a

Shiva linga A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional ...

, a nuclear reactor dome shape alike structure representing Shiva and the power of creation, seated on top of a surface, an abstract representation of

Shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and rep ...

. The ''shiva linga'' at this temple is a naturally occurring stone structure. According to a popular local legend, the statue of Nandi is credited with protecting the temple from an attack of Muslim invaders by releasing innumerable

bumble bees "Bumble Bees" (originally called "Bumble Bee") is a song recorded by Danish- Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua. It was released as their eleventh single overall, and the third from their album ''Aquarius''. The song more closely resembled their earli ...

onto the attackers thereby saving the temple from destruction. The temple also has several other idols, sculpted from sphatik, a quartz stone, which appears opaque in natural light but becomes crystal-like translucent when a light is held against it. Within the temple is a pit which is believed by the locals to be a doorway to

Naraka Naraka ( sa, नरक) is the realm of hell in Indian religions. According to some schools of Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism, ''Naraka'' is a place of torment. The word ''Neraka'' (modification of ''Naraka'') in Indonesian and Malaysi ...

, the netherworld. Close to the temple is a pond with three large stone buffalo statues. These buffaloes are believed to be representative of demons who, according to legend, flocked to the watering hole, which was said to be filled with

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned fro ...

, until they were shot dead by the king, Raja Adi Pal.

Repairs and Renovation

The temple was the victim of shoddy repair and renovation work. A thick layer of lime covered the intricate and fine filigree work and marble carvings of the temple interiors, for which the artisans of Rajasthan were famous, which resulted in the beauty of the temple being hidden and reducing it to an insignificant structure. However, this was a boon in disguise, for it protected the fine marble from damage over the years. In 1979, the crown prince of the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

chanced upon a piece of marble exposed under the lime, and that started the renovation work of the temple under the aegis of the crown prince. Skilled artisans began the work to restore the temple to its past glory by carefully removing the lime to reveal the underlying marble beauty. Pillars and columns were carefully removed, reworked on, and then set back in correctly. During the renovations to the

garbhagriha A ''garbhagriha'' or ''sannidhanam'' is the '' sanctum sanctorum'', the innermost sanctuary of a Hindu and Jain temples where resides the ''murti'' (idol or icon) of the primary deity of the temple. In Jainism, the main deity is known as the ...

, Sanctum Santorum of the temple, it was revealed that it wasn't built of bricks with marble slabs on top, but of huge blocks of marble. A path was also unearthed, that went around the Sanctum Santorum, for the purpose of

parikrama Parikrama or Pradakshina is clockwise circumambulation of sacred entities, and the path along which this is performed, as practiced in the Indic religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. In Buddhism, it refers only to the path along ...

, the Hindu custom of circumambulation. Sculptures of the goddess

Chamunda Chamunda (Sanskrit: चामुण्डा, ISO-15919: Cāmuṇḍā), also known as Chamundeshwari, Chamundi or Charchika, is a fearsome form of Chandi, the Hindu Divine Mother Shakti and is one of the seven Matrikas (mother goddesses).W ...

were found on two alcoves, the rear one and the one on the left. These were smeared with the auspicious red vermillion, indicating that these were regularly worshipped in the days before the repair work was undertaken.

References

External links

Achaleshwar Temple historyRajasthan TourismAchaleshwar Mahadev Temple - The Divine India
{{Coord, 24.615589, N, 72.7665303, E, display=title Shiva temples in Rajasthan Hindu temples in Rajasthan